No More Partnership Between California Community Colleges and Kaplan University

Published on Monday, August 30th, 2010 by Nohel Category: College News Community Colleges Online College Courses

photo: cdcr.ca.gov

California community colleges have had mixed feelings about partnering with Kaplan University. In some cases, Kaplan provided an opportunity for community colleges to promote various services that Kaplan offers such as test prep courses, and discounts on other products. But most recently, the California community college system has parted from the agreement with Kaplan. The partnership was an effort for students to be given college credit at a discounted rate (42% discount) from online college courses taken at Kaplan University.

The 112 community colleges in the system has gone through a great deal of economic stress with the bombardment of funding cuts. There is more of a demand for college courses and classrooms today with less of an operating budget than before. Some saw the partnership with Kaplan as a way to make it easier for community college students to get classes that they cannot get into at a traditional college. For Kaplan, the agreement not only brought them students, but also a credible relationship at a time when online colleges are being watched under a close eye by congress and the media.

One of the downfalls from this agreement is that some University of California (UC) schools and California State University (CSU) schools may or may not accept all coursework completed at Kaplan University. Each campus would accept coursework on a case by case basis, meaning there is no system wide policy accepting all credit from Kaplan.

In an article published by The Chronicle, it quoted:

“Without these transfer agreements, the [agreement] could have a negative effect on students and the community-college system,” Barry A. Russell, the system’s vice chancellor for academic affairs, wrote to Kaplan’s president.

In a written statement, Kaplan [University] said it was disappointed by the system’s decision. “We remain committed to providing a solution for students seeking to complete their programs on time,” the statement says. “We will continue to foster relationships with California community colleges and to look for innovative ways to help students meet their academic and career goals.”

Community college courses in California cost approximately $26 per unit, the lowest in the country, while Kaplan’s discounted courses would have cost about $216 per credit hour. Even this discounted rate for community college students would have been almost 10 times the amount they would pay at community colleges. Most students that attend a community college, attend because it’s affordable. Having community colleges funnel them to for-profit institutions can defeat that exact purpose of serving the surrounding communities.

Share the knowledge: